Rd Congo: EU aids to isolate Ebola cases

18 maggio 2018 @ 10:23

(Brussels) The EU is taking action to face the Ebola emergency in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The EU Commission announced a package of “urgent humanitarian aids” consisting of 1.5 million euros as “logistic support” to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and 130 thousand euros to the International Committee of the Red Cross for life-saving measures of the Congolese Red Cross. The humanitarian air service Echo Flight will carry expert doctors, emergency staff and equipment to the affected areas. In a statement, Humanitarian Aids Commissioner Christos Stylianides, who is also EU’s Ebola coordinator, explained the European Union’s efforts “to help handle and contain the spreading of the disease” in contact with “the national authorities, the WHO and international partners”. “Everything must be done to isolate Ebola cases, especially because there’s been a case in Mbandaka”, he stated. The funds announced today will be used “to deploy remarkable measures in the affected areas, to monitor and track down contacts with the infected people, to look for active cases for an early diagnosis”, as well as informing people about “risks and behaviours”, for psychosocial support and “safe, dignified burials”. Copernicus, the European satellite, will also be involved to map the emergency and probe the ground and the roads around Mbandaka and Bikoro.